BCN 2013: Ultimo Dia en Barcelona

Do you know Dr. Seuss' saying "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened"? Well, I am sort of emoting like that on our last day :) But in as much as I would like to stay longer and enjoy the beauty that this Catalan city can offer, I am practically drawn home by (well, aside from our dated return ticket) hubby and I's center of gravity -- the little girl waiting at home :)

Our last night in Barcelona was when I had the best sleep I've ever had since we arrived. In the first few mornings, I woke up ahead of my alarm clock. And for the very first time, on our last day, I was finally awaken by my alarming phone. I had so much renewed energy for that day of shopping and flying!

Since it was rebajas (sale) season in Barcelona, we found ourselves standing in front of the door of a mall at Plaza Catalunya, which we later found out won't open until 9:30AM. Well, that's still early compared to the opening time of malls in the Philippines. But for two persons who will be traveling a thousand miles later that day, and only had few more hours before heading to the airport -- that was super late!! :)
Like what I've said in an earlier post, Sale in Barcelona is really crazy!! Almost all items are at least (AT LEAST!!) 30% cheaper! And the Zara shops?? They're everywhere! (See map here). And the queue to the cashier was really loooong! You can get a pair of shoes or a pretty nice dress at 10 Euros or even less! But my winning treasure find is my brand new down coat for only 16.70 Euros! One last piece, luckily -- my size :)

And for the first time since we arrived in Barcelona, we got lost on our way back to the hotel. I don't know, might be because we were walking too fast and panicking to go back as we were leaving really soon or we were probably tired with all the shopping bags we've got on our hands and feet! Hehe :)

Barcelona is a beautiful city with people so lovely and warm just like their weather. It has already become the counterpart of Japan in Europe, as my most favorite place to visit :) It's a little sad though that a city so wonderful as it is, is being tarnished by petty crimes (like Rome and Paris). I won't say I didn't got paranoid after reading scary stories of unlucky tourists over the internet. But I must say, reading about them is okay for you to be informed and ready, but not to the point of having paranoia take over a lovely trip where you've saved a lot of money for. We had a great time at the city, with all our valuables in tact. And thankfully, never got to encounter any of those stories I've read. Barcelona is a wonderful, amazing, vibrant and absolutely lovely city that you wouldn't want to miss!! :)